Good chance he will be traded before Feb. 26 NHL deadline after reaching 600-point mark for his career and ending 20-game goal-less drought.

Tomas Plekanec doesn’t remember the first point he registered with the Canadiens, which is understandable because it happened so long ago.

The date was Oct. 6, 2005 and Plekanec picked up an assist on a goal by Chris Higgins as the Canadiens beat the Rangers 4-3 in New York on an overtime goal by Michael Ryder.

Defenceman Fedor Tyutin #51 of the New York Rangers misses his check on left wing Tomas Plekanec #35 of the Montreal Canadiens during the Rangers home opener at Madison Square Garden on October 6, 2005 in New York City.

On Sunday afternoon, Plekanec recorded his 600th career NHL point with the Canadiens, getting an assist on Artturi Lehkonen’s second goal in a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Centre. Plekanec added his 601st point when he scored the final goal, ending a 20-game goal-less drought for the 35-year-old centre the Canadiens selected in the third round (71st overall) at the 2001 NHL Draft.

“I remember the first goal, but I don’t remember the first point,” Plekanec said after the game when looking back on his NHL career.

“It was against Toronto, I think at home,” he added about his first NHL goal. “(Ed) Belfour was in the net, I think, and I got a pass from (Mike) Ribeiro and just shot it … a slapper.”

Plekanec’s memory is perfect about that night on Oct. 15, 2005, when Toronto beat the Canadiens 3-2 at the Bell Centre.

Plekanec has now played 974 games with the Canadiens, scoring 231 goals and adding 370 assists. He ranks eighth all-time in games played with the Canadiens and 13th in points. But Plekanec’s days in Montreal could be numbered with the Feb. 26 trade deadline approaching and him eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after his two-year, US$12-million contract expires.

Plekanec has made it clear he wants to finish his career in Montreal, but it would make sense for Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin to trade him before the deadline to a team looking for a veteran, two-way centre and then try to re-sign him in the summer to a much less-expensive contract. That, of course, depends on whether Plekanec is in the Canadiens’ future plans.

On a team that’s very weak down the middle, coach Claude Julien continues to lean heavily on Plekanec, who is averaging 16:21 of ice time while killing penalties, winning 52.1 per cent of his faceoffs and posting a plus-2 despite being matched up against the opposition’s No. 1 line. Offensively, Plekanec’s production has dried up with five goals and 15 assists in 53 games.

“That’s what happens, I guess, throughout a career … your role changes,” Plekanec said. “You get older, you get different kinds of assignments. I was so fortunate to play with guys like Kovy (Alex Kovalev) and (Andrei) Kostitsyn at the time (he broke into the NHL) and some other guys that helped me offensively to reach those numbers. I’m not a numbers guy, I’m not big about stats.”

Plekanec’s career high for goals is 29, set in 2007-08, and his most points were 70 in 2009-10. He posted 14-40-54 totals in 2015-16, but his production fell to 10-18-28 last season.

Plekanec said he hasn’t had any discussions with management about the future, but has talked a bit with his agent.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Tomas Plekanec on Sept. 23, 2002, playing a preseason game against the Bruins. Plekanec scored an assist in that game, but his first regular-season NHL goal would come three years later.

When asked if each home game at the Bell Centre now holds more significance, Plekanec said: “I’ve been looking up at that roof the past two years pretty much looking at what it’s like to play in this building. You never know … day by day. I enjoy every game playing at home, that’s why I’m so happy to stay here for so long. It’s so much better to play in front of those fans than I guess anywhere else in the league, as all players know. At the same time it’s tough, but you take the positive out of it.

“That’s what Montreal’s about,” he added. “It’s such a passionate city and that’s what I like about playing here.”

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